Step 7: Final touches

Step 8: Take pride in what you've made

Here is a PDF of all the final creations so far. These children graduated in June 2009 and have just started kindergarten this week. The younger hal...

I am a preschool teacher and I work with children ages 3-5. Last year (08-09 school year), our class entered a 9 month endeavor to learn how to sew and make our own garments. It all started with one little girl who asked for "lots and lots" of paper which she would tape together to make a dress. When I explained that I could get her REAL material and teach her how to sew, she was ecstatic! Soon, other children joined into the project and, before we knew it, we were making dresses, police vests, super hero costumes, doll clothes, and viper fish costumes. We started with learning how to hand sew, then we hand sewed pillows out of felt. After that, each child designed their own garment and we used a cheap little machine to bring those designs to fruition. Even though they are young children, we were able to complete such a long-term project because we were doing something they were interested in. We believed in their capability and competency and, with a lot of time and A LOT of patience, something amazing came out of it!

This instructable will show you how to teach anyone how to sew, even those only just developing their fine motor abilities!

That was just too cute! I love that you are introducing such thought intensive work into preschool! I know just making garments on a sewing machine is hard enough, let alone teaching it to a group of children but they looked like a great bunch that were very excited about what they were learning. Thank you for sharing and being an awesome teacher!

Alicia, you hit it out of the park with this one! I love the faces of the children while modeling their creations. Such pride and joy. There should be more teachers like you. You have proven that young children are capable of so much if we just guide them, give them the tools, and get out of their way! You rock!

This is a phenomenal project! We teach Family and Consumer Science in the middle school, but you have demonstrated that these kids can definitely learn much earllier. The steps are developmentally appropriate and the results are adorable! Way to go, Alicia! Love, Aunt Marie

This is great. I'm a big believer in allowing kids to explore and giving them the tools to do. And exposing them to machinery and pointy needles overcomes their fears and develops a healthy respect for them later on. The biggest reward is to see the imagination at work. We need more teachers like you with creative ideas. Thanks for sharing.